Hi K.,
I tried out several different types of cloth diapers, and also g diapers, with my son, and I can tell you how they worked for us...
We did not like g diapers at all. My son was breastfed, and his runny poop leaked out of them. Also, before you flush the insert down the toilet, you have to rip the sides off of it and shake the inside lining out. It was more work than just cloth diapers! Also, the refills are insanely expensive, and getting increasingly hard to find. Whole Foods and Peapods no longer carry them; I could only find them at co-ops.
We have some Happy Heiny's One Size Diapers. These are good diapers, but expensive ($20 for a diapers w/2 inserts). I call them my "Cadillac Diapers". The HH One Size Diapers are great because they have several sets of snaps, so they "grow" with your child, from newborn to toddlerhood. We have 2 Happy Heiny's One Size Diapers, and my son wears them at night. I think they are great diapers, but to buy a complete set of them was cost prohibitive for us.
My favorite diaper system is also the cheapest: a Chinese prefold with a cover. Chinese prefolds are what people think of when they think of old-fashioned cloth diapers. Except nowdays, you don't need to fold them all fancy and use diaper pins. We simply fold the diaper in half the long way, and lay it inside a cover. The 2 brand of covers we've used are ProWrap and Bummis; I love them both.
Whatever diaper system that you choose, you can cut down on clean-up with cloth diaper liners. They are basically thin, gauzy paper towels. You lay the liner on the diaper, and then if the baby poops, you can flush the liner down the toilet. My husband LOVES these.
I bought my cloth diapers and supplies at: Peapods on Snelling & Randolph in St. Paul; Sweet Pickles on the east side of St. Paul (by Sun Ray); and Craigslist. I would recommend going to either Sweet Pickles or Peapods, and seeing the different diaper systems first-hand. Sweet Pickles is great because it is a home-based business, and the lady sat down at her kitchen table and went through all the different types of diapers with me.
I would recommend buying a couple of different types of diapers and testing them out before you invest in them. People have varying experiences with all the brands, and you don't want to be stuck with $400 worth of diapers that you don't like. That being said, Craigslist is a goldmine for cloth diapers and covers, but they sell quickly.
I wash my diapers with a cup of white vinegar. It keeps them soft and helps with the odor. I line dry them.
Good luck.
http://www.mysweetpickles.com/Types_of_Diapers.html
http://www.peapods.com/browse.cfm/2,5.html